Edgcore Technology Inc – the Scottsdale, Arizona-based systems manufacturer that produces high performance CPU technology compatible with the Motorola 680X0 series – has made its first major push into the UK market by forming Edgecore Technology UK Ltd in conjunction with London-quoted Pick systems distributor UCL Group Plc, Rotherhithe, SE. The new company will distribute and support the Edge 1000 Series systems, which support up to 500 users and run Edgecore’s Symetrix merged implementation of Pick and Unix. The company will be jointly owned by UCL and Edgecore Technology Inc, with UCL having the majority shareholding. UCL currently distributes Altos systems running Pick and the Ultimate 7000 range of Honeywell DPS 6-based systems: product manager David Longley admitted there would be some overlap between the Ultimate and Edge systems, but claimed the Edge 1000 offered one and a half to two and a half times as much power as the top-end Ultimate systems. UCL rates the Edge hardware at a sustained 6 MIPS performance, peaking at 11 MIPS, while the dual processor version achieves 11 MIPS with 16 MIPS at peak. The processing power, combined with high-speed input-output channels, will enable UCL to compete with mainframe class systems, according to Longley. UCL Edge systems will be available from March: system prices start from UKP250,000 to UKP850,000. Edgecore, which has OEM deals with Olivetti and Philips, says that three other US OEM customers have now signed up for its systems, and that its technology exchange with Motorola Inc has led to Motorola’s future 68050 chip being substantially based on Edgecore technology.
UCL JOINT FIRM WITH EDGECORE TO PUSH PICK-UNDER-UNIX LINE
